Disk dumping with Teac
#1
I'm trying to dump some old "regular" disks (i.e. blank floppies purchased off a store shelf), and I think I'm doing something horribly wrong, since none of them appear to be working. These disks contain things like my old C64 basic programs, files (from programs like GEOS and Bank Street Writer), and saves (the majority). I can dump to G64 without (apparent) error, but when I try to use or run them in Vice, they all appear to choke on what looks like track 18 (at least, the green light flashes on what Vice is reporting as track 18... not sure if that's actually it or not).

I'm using G64-splice with everything else left as default. I've tried half-tracks and 5 passes, but nothing makes a difference.

To do this, I'm using a Teac FD-55GFR. I don't know if it matters, but the majority of the disks in question are "Precision Flexible Disks Manufactured by Xidex," some are Maxell MD2-D, and the oldest are from Digital (Equipment Corporation). I have been cleaning the heads of the Teac between attempts, to no avail.

So far, I've only tried the "front" side of the disks. At some point I'd like to try getting the "back" side of the disks as well. I've read something about an "EX" jumper, but I don't know if the drive has one or not.

I would like to think the problem is me, since it's hard for me to believe that _all_ these disks are bad (we're talking about thirty disks), the drive appears to be in working order, and the SCP is not reporting any overt issues. I just don't know exactly what I'm doing wrong.

Thanks in advance to all for any assistance.

Stone
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#2
Have you cleaned the head of the Teac drive?  You will find that you will need to clean the head frequently, probably for every disk you use.  Oxide comes off easily due to time.

Regular data disks are the most difficult thing to actually copy because SuperCard Pro is an imager/copier of raw flux and does not look for any particular format.  If the disk was created using the INDEX pulse to start/stop tracks (like nearly every commercially produced disk), then there are no issues at all.  Since the Commodore disk drives didn't have an index pulse detector, there is no way for SuperCard Pro to know exactly where the tracks actually start and stop.  There is a routine (SPLICE) that attempts to find this by looking for invalid flux.  Sometimes the flux is never bad due to overlapping.  I just need to make a routine like the .adf converter that converts disks to .d64.  It's something I have been working on for awhile.
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#3
(06-20-2018, 11:31 AM)admin Wrote: Have you cleaned the head of the Teac drive?  You will find that you will need to clean the head frequently, probably for every disk you use.  Oxide comes off easily due to time.

Regular data disks are the most difficult thing to actually copy because SuperCard Pro is an imager/copier of raw flux and does not look for any particular format.  If the disk was created using the INDEX pulse to start/stop tracks (like nearly every commercially produced disk), then there are no issues at all.  Since the Commodore disk drives didn't have an index pulse detector, there is no way for SuperCard Pro to know exactly where the tracks actually start and stop.  There is a routine (SPLICE) that attempts to find this by looking for invalid flux.  Sometimes the flux is never bad due to overlapping.  I just need to make a routine like the .adf converter that converts disks to .d64.  It's something I have been working on for awhile.

I've been a good user (or, at least, tried to be one), and have cleaned the drive after each attempt. I use the old "looks like a regular disk but has a white scrubby thing where the actual disk should be" cleaner. I "clean" the drive by doing a drive speed test for fifteen seconds after each attempt. Should I be doing this for a longer amount of time?

If dirt isn't the problem... then is it the disks, themselves, that just won't work with the SCP (right now)?

Stone
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#4
The issue really is likely that the SPLICE mode isn't detecting the write splice on some tracks correctly for C64/128 disks. It will be hit and miss until I make the .d64 converter. Commercially produced disks are not an issue because they are almost always produced on commercial duplication machines, and thus use the index pulse to start/stop tracks.
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